

S'està carregant… Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994)de John Berendt
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Southern Fiction (17) » 13 més No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. John Berendt crafts an engaging novel surrounding the real world death of Danny Hansford at the hands of Jim Williams, a multi-millionaire antique dealers. More than a murder story, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a story of the isolated city and peoples that populate Savannah, Georgia in the 1980s. ( ![]() I am from the South, born and raised. I am very familiar with Georgia, have spent alot of time there. I loved this book! I enjoyed experiencing the area through the eyes of someone else. The people you meet are delightful, the descriptions of the locale are spot on, and the true crime story is interesting. This book is an entertaining, and at times humorous, look into the town and residents of an idealistic Southern town with loads of personality. Loved every minute of it! This book uses a celebrated murder trial as a vehicle to introduce the reader to Savannah, Georgia and some of it's more colourful inhabitants.[return][return]The fist half of the book is spent introducing us around the place, and helps set the scene for the second half of the book: the murder of Danny by his boss (lover?) Jim. [return][return]Such are things that I remember more about the town than I do about the trial (and the result). Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a splendid piece of nonfiction. Part true crime, part Savannah guidebook, it reaches beyond both of these to become a captivating character study. John Berendt effortlessly captures the voices of both the people he meets and the city of Savannah, itself. And yet, though his impressions and experiences shape the narrative, he remains an understated presence in the book, offering what he sees and hears with minimal commentary, and leaving us, the readers, with the sense that it is we who are in fact meeting these people and this place. As their new acquaintances, moreover, we're free and welcome to come to our own conclusions about the quality of their characters, and so we, too, become drawn into the book's singular series of events. Deftly rendered with elegant and evocative prose, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a funny, insightful, and often touching glimpse into Savannah's charming, mysterious heart. I can see why this is a best seller - Its full of well written, quirky characters, a never ending murder trial, everything needed to grab the attention of a reader. Set in Savannah, Georgia, John Berendt uses a murder mystery to tie together different communities of Savannah, from the Drag Queens to the social elite. The community is small enough that everybody knows of everybody and opinions abound. This is also a very segregated world, blacks and whites, low and upper class are very separate. The author alluded to this, but I'm not sure if he captured how this affected the poorer communities. The setting of Savannah is really well done, from the architecture, the gothic cemetery from the street plans. This is a book that is equal parts murder mystery, character driven, and setting, all put together into something that is fun to read.
Elegant and wicked.... Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime. Pertany a aquestes col·leccions editorialsFlipback (19)
"Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case." "It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else." "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling southern city is certain to become a modern classic."--Jacket. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
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![]() GèneresSense gènere Classificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)975.8724 — History and Geography North America Southeastern U.S. Georgia Southeast Georgia Chatham/Effingham Counties Chatham County/Savannah (Georgia)LCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana:![]()
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